From the Editor
This thematic issue of the journal is timed to coincide with the centennial of the formation of the USSR. All the authors of the articles have tried in one way or another to comprehend the phenomenon of so-called “Sovietness” and have paid much attention to the search for the roots and genesis of “the Soviet”, including the project of a “new man”. An important theme of the issue was the study of the language of the Soviet man and his ability to “speak Bolshevik”. The articles, written within the framework of the linguistic turn in history, analyze various discursive practices in the context of the formation of the Russian language of the Soviet type, using the examples of "letters to the authorities", diaries, and artistic texts. At the same time, intensive communication between the authorities and citizens is considered as one of the most important forms of political participation in the USSR. A number of articles are devoted to the processes of transformation of traditional social institutions and roles within the framework of the Soviet project and the formation, along with the Soviet identity, of the widest palette of identities of historical actors. Another significant theme of the issue was the changing sociocultural “habitat” of the Soviet man, including the extreme
conditions of World War II.